I had the chance to checkout the Will Smith shoot ’em up, action flick, Gemini Man directed by Ang Lee. I was quite happy when I saw the trailer considering he gave us Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Not to mention it had starred Philly’s own. Smith stars as Henry Brogan, a hitman who simply wants to retire until he is forced to fight against a younger clone of himself. After the company he works for realizes Brogan is too good to kill, they send the only one who’s able to get the job done… Him!
While on paper, this sounds like a great concept, on screen there were things that were a little murky. Especially when the story progressed.
I’m gonna keep this review short and sweet! That being said, there will be NO SPOILERS in this one y’all.
Now, this flick is chocked with an inconsistent script nor is it great but that’s not to say that it’s awful either. I enjoyed it for what it was. The action in the movie is fairly good, especially during the shooting & chase scenes. The de-aging CGI for Will Smith was compelling and at most times amazing. Although there is a scene in particular that Will Smith made me feel like I was watching a video game cut scene.
The problem I had with this movie wasn’t the acting, stunts or how it’s shot. Honestly, it was with the script/screenplay mostly. The story and central plot are muddled together and you spend time waiting for the climax. There were some exposition scenes that were overly trite & repetitive while some were completely unrealistic.
But that doesn’t break the film. It’s still a good watch. It’s just that when you have 3 very different writers, that saying about too many cooks comes to mind. Gemini Man has feeling to it and the emotions that Will Smith brings are amazing. Yet unlike movies like John Wick, it kinda tries to be something more than it is & this makes it messy. Still this isn’t a film I recommend in IMAX or super HD. The problem I had with this movie was that I went in expecting Enemy of the State mixed with Looper meets Polar.
If you haven’t heard of Polar, it’s on Netflix and you need to get your shit together and check it out! Definitely a good hitman tries to retire flick that doesn’t try to be more than it is.
Sadly with Gemini Man, I was let down a little. This film had more potential than what we were given not to mention the hype & budget. The acting is about as good as the script allowed. Still it’s fairly enjoyable once you peel away the critical need to dissect each and every frame. Again it wasn’t a bad movie. There’s an audience for this film who simply love good ol’ action flicks. It had its fun moments and I really did enjoy it. A good chunk is funny and entertaining especially from actor Benedict Wong.
Again, I didn’t hate this movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it but when I heard of the names attached to such a big budget, I expected a little something more.
My vote:
It’s ok… Good ol’ fashioned action flick for today’s audience
But that screenplay needed some work!
Until Next Time Kiddies,
Shalom
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